Vida Cantina: Delicious, creative food and drinks

Dear Chef Jed Bednarski, your food is wonderful. It's interesting, inventive but not offputting. It's balanced in flavor and texture and inspiring. Dear GM Molly Woodhouse, the staff at Vida Cantina rocks. They know the menu, they care about what they are doing and things seem to be running very smoothly. Dear Jay McSharry and Joel Harris, you really know how to put a team together.

Dear Chef Jed Bednarski, your food is wonderful. It's interesting, inventive but not offputting. It's balanced in flavor and texture and inspiring. Dear GM Molly Woodhouse, the staff at Vida Cantina rocks. They know the menu, they care about what they are doing and things seem to be running very smoothly. Dear Jay McSharry and Joel Harris, you really know how to put a team together.

In our kingdom of simple, low key restaurants, the spots that are relatively inexpensive and comfortable to be in but with food that sparks up the palate, Vida Cantina is sitting at the royal table. Built inside an old Friendly's restaurant, the space retains a retro charm but with subdued modern Mexican accents. It's not trendy enough to turn off families but it's hip enough for well, hipsters. Sit at the bar and get a delicious margarita or chelada (a beer cocktail made with local brews like Throwback Dippity Do or in the bustling dining room. There's a nice selection of craft beer on tap, some in the bottle and very reasonably priced wine on a beverage list curated by James Woodhouse, another Jay McSharry superstar. Things get a bit busy, but now that they've been open about three weeks, the service has been smoothed out. Oh, and cocktails? How about a $6 margarita or a $7 daiquiri? A good $6 glass of wine? That's more like it in my book. And the bar staff rocks it, too — personable and talented.

This is also a place where you can dine inexpensively. It reminds me of The Black Birch or Moxy in terms of the way you can construct your meal. Do small plates and share or just hoard it all for yourself. I brought Friend Vicky and Chef Jodi on one of my visits and we had no trouble sharing. The salsa flight is a must. There's one with roasted tomato, smoky and mild, a salsa verde with tomatillo and a hot as hell mango habenero ($5). Get a side order of guacamole or a full made-to-order bowl. Ripe avocados, creamy, mellow. Snacks include an order of two tamales, warm corn husks filled with spinach and poblano with white beans ($8). The filling is light but still retains some of the density and heft of a traditional tamale, little packets of vibrant flavor and texture. A salad of kale, shaved into a fluffy mound of healthfulness is lightly dressed with a sherry vinaigrette and surrounded by croutons made from masa, crisp outside, hot and soft inside ($6).

We also tried the gazpacho, a special that evening. What a delicious soup, chilled just right with a scoop of jalapeno lime sorbet in the center to keep it chilled. The soup is made from roasted tomatillo, cilantro and jalapeno, so it's a light green version of the usual tomato and cucumber mix ($7). It's perfect, with crisp flavors and a touch of heat from the jalapenos. Oh, and a word on service. Our server, Sandy, described the specials so well, I almost applauded. The staff here really knows the menu and appreciates what's going on in the kitchen and with the hospitality.

You can order two or three tacos and you can mix and match, a very smart feature. In the taqueria next door they have single tacos and tortas, a pressed sandwich as well for lunch, dinner or take out. The tacos are small but mighty and at only $8 for two or $11.25 for three ($2.75 extra for tasty black beans and rice — get them) you might even opt for more. The confit pork belly taco is a few tender pieces of the meat with a mango salsa and mellow cotija cheese, a good way to offset the delicious fat. A fried avocado taco comes with thick chunks of deep fried avocado and a chewy grilled queso, a terrific texture combo and the blue corn fried shrimp taco with a crunchy jicama slaw and smooth jalapeno crema is vibrant and well balanced in flavor and texture. It's a perfect package of richness and crunch. The fish taco — have it grilled — is mellow red fish with a sparky salsa fresca, simple and mild while a special chorizo taco had quite a bit of power. All vastly different, all well thought out.

There are also enchiladas with beef brisket, slow roasted chicken or roasted veggies. A note for vegetarians — there is plenty here for you to enjoy. I'm saying this because on one visit I witnessed a woman, who, after her server described just about all the vegetarian dishes (I heard her), got up and left, saying there wasn't anything a vegetarian could eat and she didn't just want soup. We all sat there in shock as we went over the entire menu with each other and picked out at least 12 substantial dishes for vegetarians. Oh well, her loss.

There are larger "platos" and those can be shared, too. A very large Poblano chile for a chile relleno is filled with cooked-just-enough roasted vegetables and topped with a thick layer of mellow cheese, under which is a light masa sauce ($14). A special of swordfish with blue corn masa — a sort of free-form cake and spears of grilled zucchini was also tasty ($17). It's cooked to just lightly rare inside so if you like it all opaque, let them know.

Please have dessert. They make their own ice cream in inventive flavors like brownie and goat cheese and the churros with honey butter and berry puree are light and wonderful. The lemon tart with cornmeal crust and agave cream is a snappy way to end the meal as is the unusual tres leches cake made with masa ($6 for each).

I like the way Chef Bednarski uses corn in his dishes but that's just the beginning. He uses each ingredient from local farms and the sea against and with other flavors and textures in a way that, from looking at the words on a menu might not make sense, but which when tasted, is completely harmonious. Harmony in food, in service and vibe.

Rachel Forrest is a former restaurant owner who lives in Exeter. Her column appears Thursdays in Go&Do. Her restaurant review column, Dining Out, appears Thursdays in Spotlight magazine. She can be reached by e-mail at rachel.forrest@dowjones.com.